Pistol safe



Sept. 2, 1969 M. A. NORDEEN PISTOL SAFE Filed Oct. 4. 1967 Melvin A Nardeen INVENTOR.

3,464,606 Patented Sept. 2, 1969 fce 3,464,606 PHSTOL SAFE Melvin A. Nordeen, 2313 Tully, Modesto, Calif. 95350 Filed Oct. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 672,823 Int. Cl. Fdlo 13/04; Bouw 3/08; A67b 6'7/02 U.S. Cl. 224-2 4 Claims ABSCT F THE DISCLOSURE A lockable case for housing a pistol w-hich includes a cover plate of the case capable of swinging outwardly after being unlocked thereby exposing a weapon. The interior surface of the cover plate contains bracket means which releasably supports a pistol affording an authorized user of the weapon the opportunity to remove it quickly and easily after the case has been opened. Attachment means are provided for permanently installing the case.

The invention relates to a pistol holding device and more particularly is pertinent to a lockable holding device for securing a pistol under the dashboard of an automobile or to a planar surface thereby permitting ready accessibility to an authorized weapon user.

`In prior constructions, pistol holding devices have been provided which lock a pistol within a case and upon the unlocking of said case, a spring biased mechanism supportingly projects the pistol from the case thereby allowing removal of the weapon. Such constructions primarily depend upon the proper functioning of the spring mechanism thereby rendering less than optimum reliability. ln certain other prior art constructions, a pistol is mounted and locked to a pivotal bracket. Upon release of a lock, the bracket pivots outwardly in a manner permitting removal of the weapon. Insofar as this type of construction does not utilize a housing, the weapon remains exposed which facilitates the theft thereof. In addition, the weapon is exposed to corrosive and other detrimental elements which tend to decrease the reliability of the weapon. Relatively frequent maintenance is therefore made necessary.

The present invention includes a case for housing a pistol. The case and associated cover plate are hinged together and are normally retained in a closed relation. The interior surface of the cover plate includes a `spring clip and barrel support bracket for holding a pistol firmly in position. The case is generally installed in an inverted manner so that the cover plate is free to swing downwardly upon unlocking the cover plate, such downward displacement of the cover plate exposing the weapon to an authorized user. The cover plate includes a flange which is engageable by a detent provided on the case wall opposite the cover plate. The detent engages the flange when the cover plate is displaced downwardly thereby locking the cover plate in an open position. Accordingly, the weapon is made available to the user by simply unlocking the case causing the cover plate to swing open due to the force of gravity exerted upon the inverted case. This type of construction provides the advantage of delivering the weapon without the necessity of a spring biased mechanism which is prone to mechanical failure. The present device is characterized by a completely closed case thereby protecting the weapon from corrosion and other deleterious effects of the environment. The aforementioned detent means insures a locked open position of the cover plate when it swings downwardly thereby permitting the weapon user full and stable access to the piston even in the presence of motion due to a moving vehicle.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide safe, practical and ngertip storage for a hand gun.

Another object of the present invention is to provide attaching means which allows a weapon user to permanently install a pistol holding device on a surface in the vicinity where access to a weapon is desirable.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide means for attaching the pistol holding device under the dashboard of an automobile and completely out of sight.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a pistol holding device with detent means for holding a cover plate in an open position when the cover plate swings outwardly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lock mechanism for preventing unauthorized use of a protected weapon.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide means for opening a pistol holding device upon the unlocking 0f same and by exposing same to the force of gravity.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE l is a view in perspective showing the pistol holding device installed under the dashboard of an automobile.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional front elevational view showing the pistol holding device in the open position.

FIGURE 3 is a side sectional view taken substantially along vertical plane 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the device in closed position.

FIGURE 5 is a View in perspective of the piston holding device showing the detent and flange means.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the holding device or safe for hand guns is generally designated by reference numeral and includes a hollow inverted casing or housing generally designated by the numeral 12 which includes a top plate 14 of rectangular configuration, depending side flanges 16 and dependent edge flanges 18 all of which terminate in substantially coplanar relation to form an open-bottomed hollow parallepiped housing. As illustrated, the holding device 10 is preferably supported behind the dashboard 20 of an automotive vehicle such as a passenger car, delivery truck or the like. The dashboard 20 is provided with its usual forwardly extending flange 22 at the lower edge thereof which provides a convenient support for the holding device 10. For attaching the holding device 10 to the flange 12, a longitudinally extending flange 23 is provided. The flange 24 overlies the flange 22 and is attached thereto by fastener elements 26 which are preferably pop rivets in order to prevent easy removal of the holding device 10 to reduce the possibility of theft by removing the entire safe or holding device 10.

A bottom plate 28 of generally the same shape and configuration as the top plate 14 forms a closure or cover plate for the open bottom of the casing or housing 12. The forward edge of the bottom plate 28 has an attaching flange 30 of a piano hinge 32 attached thereto by fastener elements 34 such as pop rivets or the like. The other flange 36 of the piano hinge 32 is attached against the inner surface of the depending wall or flange 16 by suitable fastener elements 38 such as pop rivets or the like thus permanently attaching the bottom closure or cover plate 28 to the casing 12 for pivotal movement about an axis extending along the bottom edge of the front wall or flange 16.

Attached to the inner surface of the plate 28 is a generally U-shaped clip constructed of resilient material such as a leaf spring, with one leg of the clip 40 being elongated and substantially straight and being designated by reference numeral 42. The elongated straight leg of the clip 40 is attached to the plate 28 by fastener elements 44 such as pop rivets or the like with the bight portion of the U-shaped clip 40 being disposed adjacent the central forward edge portion of the closure plate 28'. The other leg of the spring clip 40 designated by numeral 46 is curved inwardly and provided with an outwardly flared free end portion 48 disposed in overlying spaced relation to the leg 42 to enable a hand gun 50 such as a revolver to be removably supported from the bottom plate 28 by inserting the revolver 50 inwardly under the free end 48 of the leg 46 so that the supporting clip 40 will engage the revolver 50 in the area of the cartridge receiving cylinder 52.

A barrel supporting bracket or plate 54 is attached to the plate 28 by an inturned flange 56 and suitable fastener element 58 such as a pop-type rivet or the like. Integral with the barrel supporting plate 54 is a limit plate 60 perpendicular with respect to the barrel supporting plate 54 and attached to the plate 28 by the same type of flange and fastener element. As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the positioning plate 60 will pass inwardly of the end wall or flange 18 when the plate 28 is moved to a closed position.

A longitudinal laterally extending flange 62 is integral with the free edge of the plate 28 and is` perpendicular thereto and extends throughout the length of the plate 28. The butt end of the handgrip 64 is disposed adjacent 5 to and is positioned by the flange 62 so that when taken in combination with the spring clip 40 and the barrel support 54, the hand gun 50 will be retained in position during movement of the plate 28 from the closed position to an open position and any vibrations to which the holding device may be subjected will not dislodge the hand gun thereby preventing any possible damage to the gun even though the vehicle in which the holding device may be installed traverses uneven terrain or the like.

Inasmuch as some force is necessary to be exerted on the hand gun when removing and installing the same, there is provided a mechanism for releasably retaining the plate 28 in open position. To accomplish this, a leaf spring 66 extends along the central outer surface of the top plate 14 and is secured thereto by fastener elements 68 such as pop rivets or the like. The forward end of the leaf spring 66 extends beyond the forward wall or flange 16 and terminates in a curved free end 70 in the for-m of a detent provided with a convexly curved lower surface. The forward edge of the closure plate 28 is provided with an extension flange 72 only at the central portion of the plate 28 which has a length suflicient that the free edge thereof will engage with the curved edge of the detent 70 when the closure plate 28 is moved to the open position. As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the flange 72 is slightly bent inwardly at 74 so that the free end of the flange 72 may be releasably received in the area 76 defined by the detent 70 and the corner forming the juncture between the front wall 16 and the top plate 14. When the cover plate 28 is swung downwardly, either gravity may be suflcient or a manual force may be exerted on the flange 62 to cause the free end of the flange 72 to cam the detent 70 upwardly so that the free edge of the flange will then be retained in the space 76. By exerting a rearward and upward force on the closure plate 28, the flange 72 will be released from the detent 70 to enable the closure plate 28l to move to a closed position. The resiliency of the spring 68 and the relationship of the detent 70 and the flange 72 cooperate to retain the plate 28 and the hand gun in position during removal and insertion of the hand gun in relation to the supporting structure on the closure plate 28. To eliminate scratching and marring of the surface of the hand gun where it engages its supporting structure, the inner surface of the bottom plate 28, the flange 62, the barrel supporting plate 54 and the clip 40 is provided with a covering of cushioning material 78 such as felt or the like which also serves as an absorbent member for residual oil or the like which may be on the surface of the gun or drip from the gun during storage. Also, the cushioning material completely eliminates contact between the gun and metal surfaces which could possibly produce a rattling noise during vibration or the like.

One end wall 18 of the casing 12 has a lock assembly 8G mounted thereon. rIhe lock assembly 80 includes laterally extending mounting ears 82 secured to the end wall 18 by fastening elements such as pop rivets 84. The mounting ears 82 are integral with a cylindrical body 86 which extends out through an opening 88 in the end wall 18. A push-button key receiving barrel 90 is disposed in the cylindrical body 86 and serves to actuate a retractible latch bolt 92 which is laterally movable toward and away from the rear side wall 16 for reception in a keeper in the form of an aperture 94 in the flange 62. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the upper edge of the latch bolt 92 is flat and substantially parallel with the top wall 14 and the closure plate 28 when in closed position and the latch bolt 92 terminates closely adjacent the inner surface of the end wall 16 so that the flange 62 cannot be withdrawn downwardly between the free end of the latch bolt 92 and the end wall 16. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the flange 52 is in slightly acute angular relation to the closure plate 28 so that the lower edge of the flange 62, as observed in FIGURE 4, is disposed closely adjacent the lower edge of the wall 16 to reduce the possibility of insertion of a thin tool upwardly between the wall 16 and the flange 62 in an effort to force the latch bolt 92 in a retracted direction. Also as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the lower and outer edge portion of the latch -bolt 92 is provided with a rounded cam surface 96 which enables the closure plate 28 to move to a closed position by the upper edge of the flange 62 engaging the rounded surface 96 on the lower and outer corner of the latch bolt 92 thus forcing the latch bolt 92 in a retracted direction so that the inner surface of the flange 52 may pass upwardly beyond the latch bolt 92 until the keeper aperture 94 is aligned with the latch bolt 92 at which time the spring biased latch bolt 92 will enter the keeper aperture 94, thus retaining the plate 23 in closed position until such time as the latch bolt 92 is manually retracted by pushing the push-button actuator 90 inwardly in relation to the cylindrical body 86. As illustrated, the push-button actuator or barrel 90 is provided with the usual key slot to enable a key to be inserted to lock and unlock the lock mechanism in order to prevent retraction of the bolt 92 except when the key has been inserted and the lock mechanism conditioned so that the push-button barrel 90 may be moved inwardly to retract the lock bolt 92.

When installed in a vehicle in horizontal position, the holding device or safe is substantially in concealed condition so that the casual observer would not be aware of the existence of the holding device. However, the lock mechanism is readily accessible to the operator of the vehicle. It will be apparent that the holding device may be installed quite rapidly with no or very little modification of the vehicular structure. In addition to positioning in a vehicle, the device may be installed in the home on a desk or bed, in the oflice or Shop, near the counter, desk or cash register, in service stations, various stores, boats, vacation trailers, summer homes, campers and the like. Further, the device is especially useful for hand guns or either the revolver type or magazine type, the holding device of the safe may be employed with other weapons or other devices Iwhich are desired to be protected from theft or use by persons other than those having a key to the lock.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modications and equivalents may be resorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A weapon holding device including, a housing, a latch controlled lock, a cover plate characterized by a rst ange portion oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of said cover plate and adapted to be normally positioned adjacent an interior wall of said housing, said rst ange portion including means for receiving the latch of said lock, means supporting said cover plate for pivotally rotating said cover plate outwardly from said housing, means for selectively retaining said cover plate in a preselected rotated position, means for releasably-retaining a weapon within the interior of said housing, said weapon retaining means including a spring clip for supporting a cylinder of a pistol, and a barrel support bracket, said clip and bracket axed to the interior surface of said cover plate.

2. A weapon holding device including, a housing, a latch controlled lock, a cover plate characterized by a iirst ilange portion oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of said cover plate and adapted to be normally positioned adjacent an interior wall of said housing, said rst ange portion including means for receiving the latch of said lock, means supporting said cover plate for pivotally rotating said cover plate outwardly from said housing, means for selectively retaining said cover plate in a preselected rotated position, means for releasably retaining a weapon within the interior of said housing, said means retaining the cover plate in rotated position comprising a second flange portion appending from said cover plate, a detent axed to said housing and adapted to releasably engage said second flange portion when said cover plate is rotated to said preselected position, `said pivotal support means for the cover plate comprising a piano hinge connected with said housing and said cover plate, said latch receiving means comprising a portion of said first ange characterized by an apertured area, third flange means for aixing said housing to a planar surface, and said weapon retaining means including a spring clip for supporting a cylinder of a pistol, and a barrel support bracket, said clip and bracket axed to the interior surface of said cover plate.

3. An article holding device comprising a housing having an access opening, a cover plate movably attached to said housing for movement between a closed position closing the opening and an open position to enable access through the opening, means operatively associated with the cover plate and housing releasably retaining the cover plate in closed position, and means on the surface of the cover plate exposed to the interior of the housing When the cover plate is in closed position for supporting an article thereon for facilitating access thereto when the cover plate is moved to its open position, said means for supporting an article including a spring clip attached to said cover plate, a supporting bracket attached to said cover plate in spaced relation to the spring clip, said clip and bracket adapted to support a hand gun on the cover plate, cushioning material on said cover plate clip and bracket to prevent marring the surface of the hand gun, means interengaged when the cover plate is in open position to releasably retain the cover plate in open position to facilitate placement and removal of the hand gun, said housing and cover plate being horizontally disposed within the housing opening facing downwardly, said means supporting the cover plate from the housing including a hinge disposed horizontally whereby gravity serves to urge the cover plate towards open position, said cover plate retaining means including a spring latch bolt, and key operated lock means for said latch bolt.

4. A weapon holding device including a receptacle, a latch controlled lock mounted to the receptacle, a cover plate for the receptacle, the cover plate having a latch member formed therein, means supporting the cover plate for pivotally rotating the cover plate outwardly from the receptacle, means for selectively retaining the cover plate in a preselected rotated position, and means for releasably retaining a weapon within the interior of said housing, said weapon retaining means including a spring clip for supporting a cylinder of a pistol, and a barrel support bracket, said clip and bracket aixed to the interior surface of said cover plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,243,958 10/ 1917 McFarland. 1,726,398 8/ 1929 Limbocker 296-37 2,535,600 12/1950 Rappl 296-37 X 2,655,298 10/1953 Riley 22A-42.42 X 2,686,644 8/ 1954 Pratt. 3,252,637 5/1966 Hart 224-1 3,261,521 7/ 1966 Meccico et al. 224-4246 X GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

